"Some of you wandered for years in the desert,

    looking but not finding a good place to live,

Half-starved and parched with thirst,

    staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion.

Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to God.

    He got you out in the nick of time...

...Some of you were locked in a dark cell,

    cruelly confined behind bars,

Punished for defying God’s Word,

    for turning your back on the High God’s counsel—

A hard sentence, and your hearts so heavy,

    and not a soul in sight to help.

Then you called out to God in your desperate condition;

    he got you out in the nick of time...

...Some of you were sick because you’d lived a bad life,

    your bodies feeling the effects of your sin;

You couldn’t stand the sight of food,

    so miserable you thought you’d be better off dead.

Then you called out to God in your desperate condition;

    he got you out in the nick of time... [from Eugene Peterson's "The Message"]